Rollback Weekend will bring fun to Birch Bay

Birch Bay’s annual Rollback Weekend and Sand Sculpture Competition is back in action with a full weekend lineup of events plus vendors Friday, July 23 through Sunday, July 25.

“This year is a little bit different because we found out pretty late that we could have full-fledged events,” said Sacha Sanguinetti, Birch Bay Chamber of Commerce event coordinator. “Things we would normally start planning for late last year, we didn’t get started planning on until May. We’re trying to do as full of an event as we can.”

The Rollback Weekend will begin with a showing of “La Bamba” on Friday night, part of the Dive-in Movies series at the Birch Bay Waterslides. The movie will begin around 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 per vehicle, including the popcorn, and can be purchased online. Sanguinetti encourages attendees to bring classic cars if they can.

The 38th annual Sand Sculpture Competition will be held on Saturday, July 24 and Sunday, July 25. Building begins at 9 a.m. and judging will be held in the afternoon. Previous years’ sculptures can be viewed on the chamber website for inspiration and include traditional sand castles, mermaids and dragons. Judging will also be held across multiple categories accounting for the range of participants from seasoned sculptors to families entering for fun.

The Golf Cart and Bicycle Poker Run is scheduled Saturday, July 24 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Participants draw playing cards at checkpoints along the course, and those with the best poker hands will win a prize at the end. The poker run is a free, family-friendly event. Anyone who didn’t register in advance should start at the Birch Bay visitor center at 7900 Birch Bay Drive.

On Sunday, July 25, the Rollback Weekend Classic Car Show will be held along Birch Bay Drive from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and all of the attending vehicles will cruise Birch Bay Drive at 1:30 p.m. Advance tickets cost $5. Day-of registration will cost $10, and registration will open at 7 a.m.

Parking along the berm will be prohibited because of the car show, but attendees can park behind the chamber office for free, Sanguinetti said.

Rollback Weekend will not be able to use the park area as in previous years, so vendors will set up at the future Birch Bay library at 7968 Birch Bay Drive. An Elvis impersonator will perform at the library location at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Rollback Weekend t-shirts will be available for sale, and participants in the poker run, sand sculpture competition and car show will all compete for prizes. The prizes include gift certificates to local restaurants and golf packages, and first, second and third place winners will be awarded a mini surfboard customized for Rollback Weekend.

Sanguinetti encouraged participants to register for events online ahead of time. Participants can register at birchbaychamber.com or in person the day of the event. The scheduled events are subject to change, so Sanguinetti recommends checking the chamber of commerce website and social media regularly for updates.